From Jack Tar to Union Jack: Representing Naval Manhood in the British Empire, 1870-1918

This volume examines the intersection between empire, navy, and manhood in British society from 1870 to 1918. Through analysis of sources that include courts-martial cases, sailors' own writings, and the HMS Pinafore, the author charts new depictions of naval manhood during the Age of Empire, a period which witnessed the radical transformation of the navy, the intensification of imperial competition, the democratisation of British society, and the advent of mass culture. This volume argues that popular representations of naval men increasingly reflected and informed imperial masculine ideals in Victorian and Edwardian Britain. The author shows how the British Bluejacket as both patriotic defender and dutiful husband and father stood in sharp contrast to the stereotypical image of the brave but bawdy tar of the Georgian navy.